CSC staff and students recently returned from a very successful summer study abroad program. Over the course of the two-week program, CSC President Chris Stellato, VP Donny Newman and instructors Wei You and Jianfen Wang led local students through a tour of Shanghai, Nanjing and Columbus Sister City, Hefei.

The program was specifically focused on science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM). Participants visited and interacted with various businesses, government organizations and educational institutions, including global market research company Ipsos, international gaming company Reality Squared Games, and cutting edge educational software company iFlytek.

During our time in Hefei, CSC was hosted by our partner Hefei University. While at Hefei University, students attended Chinese language and culture classes, worked with university peer mentors and lived on campus in Hefei University’s international student dormitories.

Below are highlights from the itinerary:

1. Visited with the CEO and VP of R2 Games
2. Visited with Ipsos
3. Banquet hosted by R2 Games
4. Bullet train to Nanjing
5. Visited Confucian Temple
6. Toured Sun Yat-sen’s Mausoleum
7. Visited a traditional tea house
8. Toured the Presidential Palace
9. Shopping in Xinjiekou District
10. Bullet train to Hefei
11. Hefei University Welcome Banquet
12. Chinese Language and Culture Classes
13. Visited Li Hongzhang’s former residence
14. Visited Hefei Foreign Affairs Office
15. Banquet hosted by Hefei FOA
16. Visited Anhui Provincial History Museum
17. Visited iFlytek
18. Day trip to Sanhe, ancient town outside Hefei city
19. Farewell Banquet hosted by Hefei University.
20. Visited Shanghai OSU Gateway
21. Toured the Bund and Nanjing Road

Student Testimonials:

“As an adult learner, the CSC educational trip exceeded my expectations. It was far richer than traveling alone or traditional tours could provide. The language and cultural training was excellent and the in-country mentors were warm and helpful. Combining education with tourism and company visits along with banquets with officials (not just training, but actual banquets) created a deeply balanced experience that will last a lifetime and propel my language abilities to a new level. ” – Rich Timpone, adult participant

Teen Participants:

“This was the trip of a lifetime. I got to make connections with native Chinese speakers, and I got to use my new acquired skills. I would say that my language ability has doubled at least. I would recommend this program to anybody because it changed my outlook on both the Chinese language and the world around me. This experience showed that you can never truly know how much of a bubble you live in until it is popped.”

“This trip was a one-of-a-kind experience. These past two weeks will forever change how I perceive the world I live in. This experience is one that everyone studying Chinese should take part in.”

“The amount of knowledge I gained on this trip is immeasurable. It was a great way to experience a different culture. To students who plan to learn partake in this trip in the future, you will have lots of opportunities opened up to you.”  

“This trip was an amazing experience that went further in depth than just a tourist trip. We learned about the development of China, and the technological and economic growth there, specifically in Hefei, our sister city. I made life-long friends in Hefei, and I learned a lot about the Chinese education system. I had a lot of fun.”

We can’t wait to head back to China for our 2016 program!

Hefei, China

The Columbus School of Chinese is excited to begin our China Study Abroad Program to Hefei, China, June 3-16, 2015, in partnership with the Confucius Institute at the East Central Ohio Educational Services Center.

Over the course of this two-week program, CSC President Chris Stellato, VP Donny Newman and instructor Jianfen Wang will lead local high school students through a tour of Shanghai, Nanjing and Columbus Sister City, Hefei.

The program is specifically focused on science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM). In China, each student will conduct research on a STEM-related research question they have developed according to their own personal interests in preparation for the trip. Participants will visit and interact with various businesses, government bodies and educational institutions, including global market research company Ipsos, international gaming company Reality Squared Games, and cutting edge educational software company iFlytek.

We are also proud to be collaborating closely with our partner Hefei University. While in Hefei, program participants will attend Chinese language and culture classes, work with local university peer mentors and live on campus in Hefei University’s international student dormitories.

We are greatly looking forward to the trip and to many more CSC study abroad programs to come!

We are offering a month long Adult Beginner Class in May. The class will meet each Monday evening in May from 7:30-9:00pm. The course cost is $115 which includes tuition, course book and audio for the class. For more information please call 614.397.2020.

The Columbus School of Chinese is honored to be representing Columbus on a “Friendship Mission” to our Chinese Sister City, Hefei!

The Columbus-Hefei Sister City partnership was established in 1988, after an American delegation visited China to negotiate a panda for the Columbus Zoo. A delegation from Hefei then came to Columbus to formalize a sister city agreement. The Hefei-Columbus Sister City relationship is Columbus’ strongest.

From November 23 to 30, Chris Stellato and Donny Newman will be in Hefei meeting with government officials, local businesses and schools to discuss new economic, cultural and educational exchange initiatives between Columbus and Hefei. These initiatives will benefit our students by providing study abroad opportunities, establishing “Sister School” relationships and other opportunities for educational and cultural exchange.

We are extremely proud and excited to help strengthen this relationship, and to provide new opportunities for our students and the City of Columbus!

The Columbus School of Chinese is excited to announce a 3-day Chinese Language and Cultural Immersion Trip to Flushing, New York on September 26-28, 2014!

The Flushing Program is a unique learning opportunity for students to experience the most authentic Chinese environment outside of China.

Flushing, New York, provides learners with authentic opportunities to practice newly acquired language and cultural skills, apply their knowledge outside of the classroom and become more comfortable with life in a Chinese environment. CSC language and culture experts will guide students through real-life scenarios and knowledge-expanding cultural experiences that will ultimately leave learners with greater confidence in their language ability and deeper understanding of Chinese culture and society.

To reserve your spot for the trip or for more details, contact CSC at 614-397-2020 today!

As we prepare to celebrate the release of Dr. Pat McAloon’s book Studying In China: A Practical Handbook for Students with a book signing and discussion on August 24, 2014, we reflect on the many reasons why study abroad in China is a great choice to begin with. Here are some of the biggest:

-Sustained authentic immersion. An authentic language environment is the single most important factor dictating how quickly one learns a foreign language. In China, such an environment is constant and everywhere. Every experience, no matter how extraordinary or mundane, is a learning opportunity. Class is just the beginning—the real learning happens once you’re outside of the classroom.

-Widely available support. Many schools, private companies, governments and non-profits in both the United States and China are seeing the importance of increasing the number of Americans with first-hand knowledge of Chinese language and culture. In 2009, President Obama launched the 100,000 Strong Initiative, which aims to send 100,000 American students to China. Other organizations, such as the Confucius Institute and many more, remain dedicated to supporting American students interested in making the trip to China.

-The time to go for maximum authenticity is now. With each passing day, globalization makes China’s big cities a little more international and a little less traditional. For more immersive experiences, skip Beijing and Shanghai for a regional city like Columbus’ Chinese sister city Hefei in Anhui Province.

-Perspective and Introspection. You will gain first-hand knowledge of China, but arguably learn more about yourself. Find out how fascinatingly similar and different Americans are to a people from the other side of the world. Living in a new culture puts fundamental truths about our shared humanity in fresh contrast.

When we began learning Chinese over a decade ago, online resources were incredibly scarce. One of the best, zhongwen.com, provided an online dictionary that required knowledge of Chinese character radicals to navigate. While that particular site was and still is a good resource to learn about character genealogy and read Chinese classics like the Confucian Analects, the Internet has come a long way in making learning Chinese more accessible and more convenient than ever before.

Now, students all over Ohio and beyond are becoming proficient in Chinese through Columbus School of Chinese distance-learning courses led by our live instructors. CSC offers a variety of distance courses that are structured to fit the unique needs of each student, including 1 on 1 language instruction and cultural training for groups via freely available video conferencing software such as Skype and FaceTime.

Live instruction, coupled with free high-quality supplemental resources for Chinese language learning online, is enabling students to reach levels of proficiency much faster than just a decade ago.

Here are some of our favorite high-tech resources for learning Chinese:

Pleco – Pleco is an intuitive Chinese-English/English-Chinese dictionary app for iOS and Android mobile devices. The app is free to download, and a variety of premium add-ons such as an optical character recognizer are available for purchase on an a la carte basis.

Nciku – Nciku is a comprehensive web-based Chinese-English/English-Chinese dictionary that boasts over 3 million entries and a variety of features, including handwriting recognition, stroke order animations, discussion forums, vocab lists, memorization tests and even its very own social network where you can interact with native speakers and other language learners, called nciku Hi! All features are free, although some require a free registration.

Podcasts – A quick query on Google or the iTunes Store will yield a multitude of podcasts geared toward Mandarin learners. Among our favorites are iMandarinpod and Slow Chinese.

In order to ensure the continued competitiveness of their workforce, many companies maintain a professional development budget for their employees to participate in short-term training programs, seminars, continued education classes or other such programs. Even without an official professional development budget, many companies will support an employee who wishes to undergo training that will increase his or her professional capabilities. For those who wish to take advantage of such opportunities, a Chinese language and cultural training program can help you maximize the return for your time and your company’s dollars. Here’s why:

• With the number of Chinese speakers throughout the world (an estimated 14% of the world’s population for Mandarin alone) and size of the Chinese economy (soon to surpass that of the United States as the largest), human resource managers from virtually every industry and sector are recognizing that their organization’s competitiveness depends on having employees with Chinese language and cultural skills.
• Because of the high marketability of Chinese language and cultural skills, for the individual, professional development presents an opportunity for career advancement and personal development that you take with you no matter where you want to work – at no cost to you.
• Even just 8 hours of cultural training can provide the tools you need for a successful outcome in your next Chinese endeavor.
• No matter what your age, it’s not too late to start learning a foreign language – even Chinese. As more and more studies show, learning a new language as an adult is not only a healthy workout for the brain, it’s also possible to reach native-like brain processing and high proficiency levels with the right kind of immersive training – like the Performed Culture Method utilized at the Columbus School of Chinese.

Does your company or organization maintain a professional development budget for its employees? If so, make the most out of your time and resources with the Columbus School of Chinese. Contact our office to learn more about how we can custom-build a Chinese language and cultural training program for you and/or your organization today!

BOOK SIGNING

We are very pleased to announce the release of Columbus Living LLC President and SABC Consultant Dr. Patrick McAloon’s new book Studying In China: A Practical Handbook For Students. Dr. McAloon will be at the Columbus School of Chinese on August 24 from 6:30-8:30pm to sign copies and discuss the new book.

Studying In China: A Practical Handbook For Students is a wonderful, comprehensive, up-to-date resource for any student going to China. It covers what to pack, how to arrive and settle in safely, how to make your Chinese instructors happy, what to expect day-to-day, how to get the most from a limited stay, and much, much more.

Please join us at the CSC on August 24, from 6:30-8:30pm. Dr. McAloon will be giving a short speech on Studying in China and will entertain audience questions. Pick up your signed copy and talk about your experiences studying abroad in China—whether they be in the past or the future!